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Providing people in Somerset’s rural communities with easier access to information and services

The Somerset Village Agent project is a project of the Community Council for Somerset and now covers over half of the county. The project uses paid, part time, highly trained individuals living in the parish ‘clusters’ they support. They help to bridge the gap between isolated, excluded, vulnerable and lonely individuals and statutory and/or voluntary organisations which offer specific solutions to identified needs.

Village Agents offer a signposting and referral service with a difference.

Village Agents work with all ages dealing with a wide variety of issues, including health and social care, home safety, finding local activities for people to join in with, and signposting and referring people to money and benefit advice. Village Agents also have the role of helping to shape services by feeding back to the appropriate body information about gaps in service e.g. transport provision. They can also motivate and support a community to respond to a local need by working together to address issues e.g. by helping them to set up a coffee morning for a group of lonely people or start a volunteer car scheme. Anyone can contact their Village Agent and the contact deatails of the Agent for Puriton, Amanda Fisher are below: